Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device used in a test using antigen-antibody reactions and in particular relates to a rinsing device for rinsing wells of a microplate used in the test.
Description of the Related Art
Tests of drug discovery screening employ proper containers for liquid samples, such as microplates. In a case of a test using antigen-antibody reactions, prior to observation of reaction results, it is required to rinse surplus samples off the microplate. This rinse is carried out by, for example, expelling a liquid for rinsing onto respective wells of the microplate and next sucking the liquid.
This rinse may utilize a device comprised of both a head for expelling and a head for sucking. Then, in an ordinary procedure, microplate subject to rinsing is moved from under the expelling head to under the sucking head. For the purpose of improving efficiency, some rinsing devices have been proposed, by which microplates are not required to move. Japanese Patent Applications Laid-open No. H07-83939 and No. H07-113728 disclose related arts.
In the prior art frequently used is a 96-well microplate, where diameters of the wells are 7 mm and pitches therebetween are 9 mm. There is in recent years a growing need for using a microplate with a greater number of wells thereon in order to carry out a greater number of test simultaneously. In a 384-well microplate, diameters thereof are 3.6 mm and pitches are 4.5 mm for example. In a 1536-well microplate, diameters thereof are 1.7 mm and pitches are 2.25 mm for example.